All Weapons & Sidearms

Find the right tool

The best weapon is the moveset you can land without losing control of the exchange. Search the roster, choose a route close to your current Beacon, and test every basic attack before spending rare materials.

Complete collection overview

The collection spans the prologue, Fainweald and Mammon. Later location does not automatically mean better. Route cost, recovery, Resolve use and compatibility with a practiced Shell matter more than simple pickup order.

Primary weapons versus sidearms

Primary weapons carry normal melee exchanges. They define reach, animation commitment, stagger rhythm and the rate at which successful pressure rebuilds Resolve. The Iconoclast is a balanced baseline; heavy tools such as the Veteran's Battle Axe, Great Martyr's Blade and Obsidian Hammer ask for clearer openings, while Axe & Dagger, Axatana and Black Needle support quicker sequences.

Sidearms spend Resolve for a separate utility or damage action. Naylshotte introduces the system, while later tools cover crossbow pressure, musical effects, siege-like bursts, rapid projectiles and status setups. A sidearm is not free ranged damage. Every shot competes with another Resolve use and may have a long recovery or narrow line of sight.

Build around a primary weapon first. Add a sidearm when you can name its job: interrupt a dangerous cast, finish a low-health enemy, apply a condition, or exploit a long boss recovery. If the answer is merely “more damage,” the meter will often disappear at the wrong time.

How to evaluate a new moveset

Begin at a Beacon with predictable enemies and no valuable progress at risk. Use the neutral light chain without button mashing and note where the animation can stop safely. Repeat with the heavy attack, sprint entry and dodge follow-up. Reach is useful only when the attack recovers before the enemy's answer.

Next test Harden during a committed melee swing. Heavy weapons may turn a long startup into a safe counter when the stored animation finishes after impact. Fast weapons may gain less from that exact interaction but recover quickly enough to dodge. The evaluation is about the whole exchange, not the damage number shown by one hit.

For sidearms, measure acquisition and opportunity. How much Resolve is required? Does lock-on hold through the intended range? Does the target move behind terrain before the shot resolves? A high-impact projectile that misses the boss's common movement pattern is a specialist tool, not a universal upgrade.

Finally test a real route. Count healing used, emergency Harden activations and missed punish windows. Keep the item when it reduces one of those costs or clearly shortens an encounter. Return it to the collection shelf when the moveset asks for timing you do not yet want to practice.

Plan acquisition by region

The prologue supplies a balanced primary weapon and first sidearm, enough to learn the combat grammar before collecting alternatives. Fainweald routes provide several contrasting melee rhythms and early ranged utility. Use that region to select a main weapon instead of assuming the next pickup is an automatic replacement.

Mammon contains later specialist tools, longer dungeon chains and stronger traversal requirements. Approach each pickup from an active Beacon with the prerequisite already verified. Bank the item before beginning another dungeon, then test it against a familiar Fainweald-style enemy if the new region's threats make comparison noisy.

Completion hunters need all eight primary weapons and eight sidearms, but the achievements do not require every item to share upgrade resources. Finish one dependable weapon first and collect the rest with a route checklist.

Low-regret upgrade strategy

Use an unupgraded weapon on ordinary enemies near a Beacon. Test neutral lights, heavy attacks, sprinting entries, dodge follow-ups and Harden inside a committed swing. Keep one short punish and one longer stagger option. Only then compare the cost of the first meaningful upgrade.

Change one variable at a time. If you change the Shell, weapon, infusion and consumable together, success teaches nothing. For direct damage, count clean contacts against the same enemy. For status, track how many hits trigger the effect and how long the condition remains useful. For stagger, watch which part of the sequence creates the opening.

Patch changes can alter numeric scaling and infusion compatibility. The item pages describe practical priorities but deliberately send you back to the current in-game tooltip before a rare spend. That makes the guide durable without pretending older numbers are permanent.

Simple Shell pairing rules

Fast weapons fit bodies that use short openings, stealth or rapid resource generation. Heavy weapons fit stability, Harden timing and Break pressure. Summon or control Shells can create the longer window that an otherwise risky animation needs. Specialist status tools belong on builds that can survive the setup cost.

A pairing is good when the Shell covers the weapon's weakness or amplifies its reliable strength. Tiel can reposition before a fast punish; Eredrim makes a heavy commitment safer; Genessa can distract an enemy while a longer animation starts; Sariel wants a weapon that can recover Pain during a confirmed opening. These are starting hypotheses, not laws.

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